Positive fantasies about idealized futures sap energy

Abstract

Positive fantasies allow people to mentally indulge in a desired future. Whereas previous research found that spontaneously generated positive fantasies about the future predict poor achievement, we examined the effect of experimentally induced positive fantasies about the future. The present four experiments identify low energy, measured by physiological and behavioral indicators, as a mechanism by which positive fantasies translate into poor achievement. Induced positive fantasies resulted in less energy than fantasies that questioned the desired future (Study 1), negative fantasies (Study 2), or neutral fantasies (Study 3).Additionally, positive fantasies yielded a larger decrease in energy when they pertained to a more rather than a less pressing need (Study 4). Results indicate that one reason positive fantasies predict poor achievement is because they do not generate energy to pursue the desired future.Keywords: Fantasy about the future, Performance, Motivation, Energization, Positive thinking Positive fantasies about idealized futures sap energyAre job-seekers more likely to find work if they visualize themselves as future CEOs, or question whether they really will attain the ideal position? Do lovesick teens realize more romantic success when they picture themselves walking down the aisle toward their crush, or imagine themselves awkwardly stuttering as they invite him on a study date? Although it is tempting to believe that simple positive visions engender actual success, research finds something different. Specifically, fantasies that are experienced as positive -those that depict an idealized version of future events -are associated with poor achievement (Oettingen & Mayer, 2002;Oettingen & Wadden, 1991; see also Showers, 1992;Spencer & Norem, 1996).The studies reported here investigate a motivational variable that may elucidate these findings: the energy to pursue the desired future. Positive fantasies about the futurePositive fantasies about the future are positively experienced mental images of future desired events that emerge in the stream of thought (Klinger, 1990(Klinger, , 1996Oettingen & Mayer, 2002). They depict an idealized version of the future that may include the attainment of desired future outcomes, as well as smooth, idealized processes of working toward these outcomes. In such positive fantasies, people hardly question whether a desired future can be achieved, nor do they imagine that the path to the desired future may contain obstacles, setbacks, pain, or effort (Oettingen & Mayer, 2002, Study 4). Importantly, idealized does not necessarily refer to an unrealistic version of the future. Rather, idealized positive fantasies about the future depict the best and most wonderful form of the future, which may be realistic or unrealistic. As images that emerge in the stream of thought, fantasies are mute to the realism of their content. Positive fantasies and achievementPositive fantasies that idealize the future are found to be inversely related to achievement over time: the more ...